Author: OMAFRA Field Crop Team

Conditions: More rainfall in region south and east of Ottawa over the April 12th weekend. Fields are generally saturated. Upper Ottawa Valley has drier conditions. Moisture from snow melt got away with very little ponding in most areas. Alfalfa: Winter survival looks good to date. Alfalfa has 2 to 3 inches of new growth at this point with no/minimal heaving…

Issues this year will be managing temperature in furrow, and wet soils. A comparison of soil temperatures at 2 and 4” deep in Lampton county over the past 5 years (courtesy of Geoff Smith of Agricorp) shows snowmelt followed by cold temperatures caused a notable drop in mid-March. Given that soils are saturated, will further slow their warming. While some…

April 15, 2014 Malibu Restaurant, Exeter Chair for this meeting was Jim Morlock Chair for next meeting is Blair Chowen Synopsis: An estimated 60% of the winter wheat crop will be under seeded with red clover. Less than 10% complete to the north, up to 50% complete in this area. Virtually no nitrogen on wheat: this likely means fewer fields…

Field crop stakeholders across the province are expressing a desire to be proactive in protecting pollinators from the risks associated with neonicotinoid seed insecticides. Assessments to date point to fugitive dust (drift of neonicotinoid contaminated dust from vacuum planters) as the likely cause of spring bee deaths. Fortunately, there are significant advancements being made in this area: “fluency” powder to…

by Brian Hall The summer emergence of flea beetles is upon us. In July larvae emerge from the soil and begin to feed on canola pods and leaves. Feeding during pod development can cause premature pod ripening, shrivelled seeds, pod shatter and allow fungal growth during wet weather. In most cases, although the damage can be unnerving, the actual yield…

Helmut Spieser, Agricultural Engineer, OMAF Ridgetown Peter Johnson, Cereal Specialist, OMAF, Stratford Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Pathologist, OMAF, Ridgetown Weather conditions in 2013 have been ideal for Fusarium Head Blight development in areas of Ontario and surrounding US states. Every year we deal with or try to minimize Fusarium impact on the crop and this year is no exception. How…

Question: Once canola starts to bolt, do I need to be concerned about damage from Swede Midge. Answer: Yes. Canola is susceptible to significant damage up to secondary branch development. Once secondary branches begin to bud, canola is not subject to serious damage. The importance of secondary branches to yield depends on plant density. Under normal plant populations, canola will develop 3-5…

This meeting was hosted by the Huron Research Station. Thanks for breakfast and an excellent tour. We appreciate the work conducted for Ontario Agriculture at the Huron Research Station. Synopsis: Rainfall has been excessive in many areas but things are actually starting to get dry in some regions. This has been a year with many issues mostly due to the weather. (Frost, hail, ponding,…

Our trap counts of adult swede midge this week have spiked to high levels in some areas. To view a map indicating swede midge trap catches go to Ontario Canola Grower’s website at www.ontariocanolagrowers.ca. Regularly check this website for updates on the level of swede midge in your growing area until your canola is beyond the vulnerable stage. While this map…

Rainfall accumulation across the region for the past week was approx. 40 mm (1.5 inches), nearly double the weekly normal. Since May 1st, the area accumulated about 130 mm of rain, which is slightly above the average and roughly 600 Crop Heat Units, which is on par with the 30 year average. Forages: First cut hay is about 70%…

Synopsis: Note: the June 25th meeting will be at the Huron Research Station. Excessive rainfall has caused erosion and emergence problems. Corn is recovering from the frost. Zinc deficiency is apparent in corn. A tremendous amount of spraying needs to be accomplished with soils too wet to carry. Spray based on the growth stage of the weed not the crop! 60% of white beans, 40%…

Synopsis: Frost damage and problems caused by excessive rains such as erosion, uneven soybean emergence on clay due to dry, then wet conditions. Rains in next few days will help resolve this. Corn drowned by 100 mm of rain near Lake Erie will likely get replanted. In the past two weeks 90 to 1125 mm of rain have fallen…

Synopsis: Note next meeting location change below. WET and COLD! Frost hit the area the mornings of May 25 to 27 causing damage to corn, tomatoes, wheat and soybeans. Dry soils made affected areas more susceptible to the frost. Rainfall came following the frost: the first significant rain in over a month for some areas. Ridgetown received just over…

Synopsis: Rainfall over the weekend varied from 25-75 ml. Several areas report receiving over 7.5″ rain in past 2 weeks. Corn emergence is generally good. Soybean planting is generally 75% complete but varies from 20-100%. Growers in north Dufferin and south Simcoe have had particularly difficult time completing field work due to wet conditions. Most crops escaped serious frost injury….

Rain in the past week ranged from 25 to 100 mm across the region. The upper valley and the far east of the region received the most. During the month of May the region accumulated roughly 450 Crop Heat Units (CHUs) or about 20 CHUs above the 30 year average. Precipitation was extremely variable across the area, but across the…

“Field Crop News” is an archive of information dedicated to the production of over 8.5 million acres of field crops in Ontario and a forum for which producers, researchers and industry personnel can share information and ideas. The crop technology team with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), faculty at the University of Guelph and Ontario field crop producers continually work together to find ways to improve field crop production. The key learning and outcomes from these collaborations are captured at “Field Crop News”.